Buying a car is so difficult!!!

[portoar]

My DH and I have been shopping for a car for sooooo long! We usually buy a slightly used car, but today when we actually went in to buy the used ''05 Acura TL we had selected, someone else had come in and bought it! So, we started thinking about just buying a new ''06. But, the ''06 doesn''t have the color combination I wanted (white with grey interior), only white with tan or white with black. So we ended up looking at silver/grey . . . but that just seemed so . . . grey . . . . dark colors (black, blue, gray) are out where I live in So. Cal., it''s beastly hot.

I dithered for an hour alone over color (this is very important to me by DH doesn''t understand the importance of color), we walked out, came back in, and basically spent about 3 hours picking a car and going through the rigamarole with the salesman, and then they offer us a trade in price on our PT Cruiser that puts us about $1100 upside down on our trade in car! Furthermore, they tell us (and show us) there''s evidence of repair (we bought it used).

We hadn''t cashed our options yet, and of course they wanted us to drive home with the car, so they wanted us to sign loan papers and then bring a check in next week. At that point I totally balked and we walked out. The salesman looked like he wanted to strangle us, my DH was so furious with me I thought he was going to say the big "D" word.

Finally I got him calmed down and now we are emailing everyone asking for internet bids on the color we want, and I''m researching trade-in prices.

This is SOOOOO frustrating, I hate buying cars!

 

[movie zombie]

yes, it is frustrating. but you know what you want and stick to it. while some think of a car as mere transportation from ''x'' to ''xy'', for you it is important re colors, style, etc. hubby may not understand and there may be no way to make him understand....but if you don''t get what you want, you''ll not want to drive the car, travel in the car, etc. and will want to trade it in or get rid of it soon. why bother?! why not get what you want in the first place?! as long as you''re willing to do the work to make it happen, then make it happen. good luck. i know you''ll get it.

movie zombie

ps we don''t even know what we want so we keep driving the 1993 honda because, well, because it runs and we put so little into it...................

 

[portoar]

MZ -- I know what you mean . . . dh has a ''94 Acura Integra he refuses to get rid of. The car looks like a total disaster, with the clear coat peeling off, filthy inside, needs work . . . but it goes and goes. I finally gave up and told him to get it painted and put some work into it.

We were all set to buy a new Honda Accord EX V6, but then I passed by the Acura dealership one day and saw the TL . . . asked to test drive . . . and it was all over.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/15/2006 11:22:17 PM
Author:portoar
My DH and I have been shopping for a car for sooooo long! We usually buy a slightly used car, but today when we actually went in to buy the used '05 Acura TL we had selected, someone else had come in and bought it! So, we started thinking about just buying a new '06. But, the '06 doesn't have the color combination I wanted (white with grey interior), only white with tan or white with black. So we ended up looking at silver/grey . . . but that just seemed so . . . grey . . . . dark colors (black, blue, gray) are out where I live in So. Cal., it's beastly hot.


Finally I got him calmed down and now we are emailing everyone asking for internet bids on the color we want, and I'm researching trade-in prices.

This is SOOOOO frustrating, I hate buying cars!

be careful with internet bids,sometime they aren't the lowest. when a dealer e-mailed me a XXX price on my wife's car,then i call up a few dealers within 100 miles from us. i told them i'm calling from out of town so please don't feed me a bunch of those salesmen BS. don't waste my time and gas. here's what i ask him over the phone...

do you have this color combo with these options ? he said...yes

i told him i been offer $850 over dealer's invoice. can you do better? since i'm coming from out of town. he said....the best i can do is $650 over invoice. i said you got a deal !!! please e-mail me the VIN#,the MSRP price and the total price with tax and Lic.

at the end...my wife got the exact car she wanted and the price that i'm willing to pay.we will go pick up the car today.

p.s. i'll tell you the funny part about this whole deal.i made an offer to the internet dealer and he refuse my offer,then by calling around i was able to buy the car $1070 less than what i offer the internet dealer. $4850 less than the MSRP

 

[blodthecat]

Buying a car in the UK is horendous too! If you go into a dealership, you need to take sandwiches and a flask, cos you're going to be there a while.

When giving you a trade-in price, they will look at your car like it is a piece of junk and give you rock bottom....pointing out all it's faults and blemishes and telling you how know one wants this model anymore

Then they start crunching numbers.....

They tell you their hands are tied and can't give you a better deal. (this is after going to and fro from the managers office for the past two hours)

The real business starts when you walk aways and say you are not interested. All of a sudden, they can put a better deal together!

Women don't stand a chance, as they presume we know nothing about cars, and are just interested in what color it is!

I would rather walk round town with a nail in my foot than buy a new car!

Why don't they understand that you want their best price, without wasting 3-4 hours of your life!

Blod

 

[blodthecat]

Date: 7/16/2006 5:30:45 AM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 7/15/2006 11:22:17 PM
Author:portoar
My DH and I have been shopping for a car for sooooo long! We usually buy a slightly used car, but today when we actually went in to buy the used '05 Acura TL we had selected, someone else had come in and bought it! So, we started thinking about just buying a new '06. But, the '06 doesn't have the color combination I wanted (white with grey interior), only white with tan or white with black. So we ended up looking at silver/grey . . . but that just seemed so . . . grey . . . . dark colors (black, blue, gray) are out where I live in So. Cal., it's beastly hot.


Finally I got him calmed down and now we are emailing everyone asking for internet bids on the color we want, and I'm researching trade-in prices.

This is SOOOOO frustrating, I hate buying cars!

be careful with internet bids,sometime they aren't the lowest. when a dealer e-mailed me a XXX price on my wife's car,then i call up a few dealers within 100 miles from us. i told them i'm calling from out of town so please don't feed me a bunch of those salesmen BS. don't waste my time and gas. here's what i ask him over the phone...

do you have this color combo with these options ? he said...yes

i told him i been offer $850 over dealer's invoice. can you do better? since i'm coming from out of town. he said....the best i can do is $650 over invoice. i said you got a deal !!! please e-mail me the VIN#,the MSRP price and the total price with tax and Lic.

at the end...my wife got the exact car she wanted and the price that i'm willing to pay.we will go pick up the car today.

p.s. i'll tell you the funny part about this whole deal.i made an offer to the internet dealer and he refuse my offer,then by calling around i was able to buy the car $1070 less than what i offer the internet dealer. $4850 less than the MSRP

DF you are obviously very shrewd, and have got what you wanted at the price you wanted to pay.

That's fantastic

I hope everything was ok when you went to pick it up, and that your lovely wife is over-the-moon with her new car!

Blod

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/16/2006 9:15:16 AM
Author: blodthecat

DF you are obviously very shrewd, and have got what you wanted at the price you wanted to pay.

That''s fantastic

I hope everything was ok when you went to pick it up, and that your lovely wife is over-the-moon with her new car!

Blod

my local dealership manager ask me the Q....why should we sell you the car at this low price? i reply by saying...b/c if you don''t take my money,there''re a dozen dealership out in the S.F. bay area that will be happy to take my money. he just look at me and was "speechless" how often do you see a car dealer shut their big mouth?.

 

[noobie]

What did you get DF? Nice job!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/16/2006 7:06:57 PM
Author: noobie
What did you get DF? Nice job!

wife just bought a Lexus IS 350.

 

[Allisonfaye]

Oh, noooo. You are looking at it all wrong. It is FUN. First of all, you did the exact right thing by walking out. With the internet, you have all the advantages now. You just have to have patience.

1) Figure out the exact car that you want with the options that YOU want. (which you have done).

2) Go on the internet and find out the invoice price. (and any dealer incentives that are being offered).

3) Go on Edmunds or kelleybluebook website and get printouts of your existing used car pricing.

4) Negotiate car price first. Don''t let them talk to you about financing or trade ins.
Call several dealers and tell them what the other ones will do and ask if they can beat it. If they won''t give you a price, don''t bother with them.

5) Play one dealer against the others.
6) Agree on your price by phone. If you go in and they jack you around, leave.
7) Ask what they will offer on your trade in. Use your printout to get them up if you need to.
Agree on trade in price. Then talk to the loan people. Know your credit score and call several lenders BEFORE you talk to them. Tell them what their competition will give you.
Know what you will accept. Be willing to leave if you don''t get what you want.

Last time my husband and went to buy my car, my husband, who is the big business success in the family, let me do the whole thing. I think at one point, I saw him trying to climb under his seat. He said he actually felt sorry for the car salesman. I think car salesmen (and most consumer salepeople) are the lowest form of life. I have no sympathy for them.
I enjoy haggling with them.

There are lots of tricks they use. For example, on my trade in, they tried to tell me that because of some scrapes on the back of my car, they had to give me a lower price than the edmunds trade. This was bogus because I had used a lower condition rating than excellent, and that had already been built into the price. They were trying to hit me twice for the condition. Good try on their part.

If they can''t make any money off you on the car or the trade, they will try to do it on financing. They will get a rate from a lender, then boost up the rate they charge you and make $$ on the spread. If you know you have excellent credit and what rate you can get elsewhere, you don''t have to fall for this one either.

YOu are on the right track. Do your homework. Don''t be in a hurry. Tell your husband you will take care of it and think of it as winning a game. It can be done. Good luck.

 

[portoar]

That''s all great advice, and advice I''m using. I have talked with several people who go the internet bid route. So far I have one quote at $29,799 (invoice is $31 incl. destination) and another quote at invoice and another quote at $300 over invoice. Basically I''m willing to pay up to invoice, so I have several choices.

I did come back home and print out all the trade in values (from edmunds, kelley, one other source) for our car.

Luckily we''re just paying cash so we don''t have to talk about all the financing issues, but Acura does have a financing deal going on now. DH is going to exercise his options tomorrow and Thurs/Fri I''m calling the delerships, confirming the quotes they''ve given me in writing, and we''ll go in next Sat. to just buy it. We really should just have to 1) go in, have them bring out the car 2) test drive it and 3) do the paperwork. I expect to not to have to haggle by the time we walk in.

The only niggling worry is unloading our old car. I''ve already put it up for sale on craig''s list and autotrader, and like I said, will have the printed trade in values when we go into the dealership.

 

[movie zombie]

i never do a trade-in with my old car!!!! get a better deal selling it yourself. so, if you''ve listed it, keep it listed. don''t make it a part of your new car deal....its not required that you do so.

there is a part of this that i agree is fun. i have a male friend who is a total wimp at the dealers and gets screwed each and every time. i''ve told him he should take me with him! this last time he not only got screwed on the price of the new car, he got peanuts for his gorgeous toyota celica...i told him i would have given him what they gave him, even $500 more! and if he''d have sold me that car, my husband and i wouldn''t be procrastinating now.

movie zombie

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/17/2006 12:16:57 AM
Author: portoar
That''s all great advice, and advice I''m using. I have talked with several people who go the internet bid route. So far I have one quote at $29,799 (invoice is $31 incl. destination) and another quote at invoice and another quote at $300 over invoice. Basically I''m willing to pay up to invoice, so I have several choices.

sounds like an Ex price. did they have your color combo?

 

[Goldenrain]

I bought an ''05 5AT TL with Navi (Anthracite Metallic with Ebony Interior)... Lemme know if you have any questions.. I''ve been through it all when I had to buy my car...

And yes, the TL is a killer car... Nothing comes close in terms of best bang for your buck... (except maybe the Accord, but the TL still looks better.. )

 

[jetmal]

I am going thru this right now too!

I am trying to unload the pain in the arse Mercedes Benz ML 430....nothing but problems with the darn thing! DH is trying to talk me into a HUMMER H2.....I''m tiny, so I''m thinking maybe a H3?

anyone here have a HUMMER???? do you like it????